A blog about an actress, silent film, and the Jazz Age; and occasionally the Denishawn Dance Company, writer Frank Wedekind, his character Lulu, Weimar Germany, Hollywood, the state of Kansas, books, music, art, history and other things sometimes only tangentially related to the heart of the matter, written on a regular basis by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the LBS.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Attention silent film fans: "Little Mickey Grogan" Restoration

Here is a GoFundMe campaign that should appeal to every silent film fan. I made a contribution. How about you? Find out more by visiting HERE.

From the GoFundMe page: "According to a report by the Library of Congress, 70% of all Hollywood
silent film features made between 1912-1929 no longer exist, and today,
in 2016, we find that all but two performers from that era are gone. In
addition to actress-turned-film history Diana Serra Cary, whose “Baby
Peggy” was one of the top box office draws in the 1920s, there is also
the equally remarkable, though lesser known actress, Lassie Lou Ahern.
Having just turned 96-years young, she was a versatile child star who
was discovered at the age of 18 months by Will Rogers. Almost
immediately, she worked with some of the biggest names in the movie
world -- "Our Gang", Charley Chase, Ronald Colman, Helen Holmes,
Virginia Davis, and Mary Philbin -- as well as appeared in some of the
leading productions of the 1920s (above all, the $2 million epic "Uncle
Tom’s Cabin"). A print of her last silent film, "Little Mickey Grogan"
(1927), survives in the Lobster Films archive in Paris. Lobster Films
founder and CEO, Serge Bromberg, has recently consented that a full
restoration of the film be done; upon completion, moreover, "Little Mickey Grogan" will be added as a title for purchase within the celebrated Lobster catalog.

Made by FBO before financier Joseph Kennedy sold the studio to RKO in 1928/1929, "Little Mickey Grogan" is
a 60-minute feature centered on a pair of street children (Frankie
Darro and Ahern) who are taken in by a generous woman (Jobyna Ralston),
as they, in turn, try to help a penniless blind architect (Carroll Nye)
recover his sight. Meanwhile, when not dodging the police, they put on
lively street shows with "Our Gang" regular Ernest “Sunshine Sammy”
Morrison, allowing the young stars to showcase their accomplished dance
and acrobatic skills with infectious dynamism and zest.

A number
of important aspects related to the film make it worth saving. Besides
the idea of rescuing a silent film that would otherwise not be restored,
they include the fact that it comes from a minor studio (FBO) from
which few movies survive today. In addition, it marked the first time in
which Frankie Darro, an actor whose career would continue to the 1970s,
was given the opportunity to star in a picture where he quickly emerged
as one of the studio’s top draws.

In addition, the work of co-writer
Dorothy Yost, one of many female scriptwriters of the silent era, has
been the object of feminist analysis, as evidenced by her inclusion in
the valuable Women Film Pioneers Project. Historically and culturally,
too, the appearance of Ernest Morrison, the first African-American
performer ever to land a contract in Hollywood, adds further value,
especially because it was one of the rare occasions during the silent
era in which he acted in a role that was not part of the Our Gang
franchise. Finally, there’s the unique situation in which the film’s
lead female performer, Lassie Lou Ahern, is still with us, and would dearly love to see "Little Mickey Grogan" restored before she passes.

In
March, 2015, there was a successful GoFundMe campaign to raise money to
obtain a digital copy of the print from Paris, as well as to pay an
entertainment lawyer to do due diligence in determining the holder of
the film’s copyright. Forty-nine individuals contributed $1,610 toward
these ends. In this second, and final, crowdsourcing campaign, monies
will be raised to complete the restoration in every aspect, including a
planned screening of the film at Pordenone in Fall, 2017."

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Launched in 1995, the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com) is an online archive and international fan club devoted to the silent film star best known for her role as Lulu in Pandora's Box. Our motto, "To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world." - Salman Rushdie

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This blog is authored by THOMAS GLADYSZ, founding Director of the Louise Brooks Society. It is a continuation of the old LBS blog at LiveJournal, which started in 2002. Please send comments, questions, or material to share to silentfilmbuffATgmailDOTcom